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Saudi Arabia has the highest take-up of Twitter in the world

The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has warned citizens against using Twitter, which is rising in popularity among Saudis.

Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said anyone using social media sites - and especially Twitter - "has lost this world and his afterlife".

Twitter was the platform for those who did not have any platform, he said.

His remarks reflect Riyadh's concern that Saudis use Twitter to discuss sensitive political and other issues.

The conservative kingdom is believed to have seen the world's fastest increase in the uptake of Twitter, says the BBC's Sebastian Usher.

'Losing battle'

The sheikh's comments echo those of the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in April who used his sermon - seen by millions on TV - to warn that Twitter was a threat to national unity, our correspondent says.